File Synchronization Systems Survey

TL;DR

This survey reviews various file synchronization systems, comparing centralized cloud solutions and decentralized P2P networks, highlighting their advantages and limitations in different use cases.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of existing file synchronization technologies, analyzing their architectures, strengths, and weaknesses.

Findings

Cloud-based systems rely on central servers for storage.

P2P systems enable decentralized sharing among users.

Each approach has distinct advantages and limitations.

Abstract

Several solutions exist for file storage, sharing, and synchronization. Many of them involve a central server, or a collection of servers, that either store the files, or act as a gateway for them to be shared. Some systems take a decentralized approach, wherein interconnected users form a peer-to-peer (P2P) network, and partake in the sharing process: they share the files they possess with others, and can obtain the files owned by other peers. In this paper, we survey various technologies, both cloud-based and P2P-based, that users use to synchronize their files across the network, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.